(Newser)
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Things just keep getting worse in Syria: Activists say the government is shelling Homs again, possibly in preparation for a large troop surge. But UN monitors have finally made it to the site of the alleged massacre in Qubair, after being waylaid and shot at yesterday, reports Sky News. "Clearly something ghastly has happened here," says a Sky reporter with the team. There are dead animals in the street and burned buildings, but no human corpses so far. "There has been ample time to clear up," the reporter observed. Witnesses disagree over who was behind the massacre, so "I suspect [the UN's] report will be inconclusive," he adds.

There have been additional reports of fighting in the suburbs of Damascus, the town of Idlib, the eastern province of Deir al-Zour, and the coastal region of Latakia, a Red Cross spokesman said, according to the New York Times. "The situation is extremely tense, not only in Houla, not only in Hama, but in many, many places around the country." At the UN yesterday, Kofi Annan warned that "if things do not change, the future is likely to be one of brutal repression, massacres, sectarian violence, and even all-out civil war. All Syrians will lose."